c mid 1950’s. When the Sawmill was first built at Prospect Road, there were only circular saws and no Bandsaws, all operated by 2 diesel tractors, an Oliver and a Ferguson. In 1952, the mill was electrified and to the left is the first electric Gillet bandsaw with George Allen and Charlie Bettridge cutting "through and through" timber for furniture, in a 2 man operation. This type of cut is to slice a whole tree in 1" to 2" thick slices, then to restack the tree with sticks between the slices to allow the timber to naturally dry out before being used for furniture. To the right Bill Thorne is operating the reciprocating Horizontal saw which was used for larger trees and all the tree butts. This horizontal has a narrow sled on rails, and as there were no chainsaws, axes were used as you can see in the foreground. The trolley on the left is on rails to take the cut timber away down the mill. You can also see 2 of the steel stanchions of the overhead gantry, and the right side rail at the top of the picture. The first Horizontal was also used for cutting elm logs against the grain for Dartboards. The log would be stood upright and dogged in in the usual way, then cut across the grain in 1.5" slices to make the dartboard.